This report covers the supermarket and hypermarket retailing industry in the People’s Republic of China, including breakdown of market by store size.

Based upon our recalculations of retail sales, and based upon the growth in individual retail sectors as well as more recent macro-economic re-evaluations, Access Asia estimates that between 1999 and 2008, China’s total retail market grew 280.94% in current terms to RMB8.50trn - representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.02% over that period.

China’s supermarket industry continues to develop rapidly. New chain store networks are emerging outside the top three cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai as retailers extend their reach into many second- and third-tier cities. There is beginning to be aggressive consolidation in the market, as larger operators swallow up smaller players.

Foreign supermarket and hypermarket chains, such as Carrefour, have already entered the market, but room for expansion in the tier-one cities is now limited. Much more attention is now being focused, by both foreign and domestic chains, on outlying suburbs, as well as provincial new towns and cities and now even rural areas. However, growth is hampered by bottlenecks and underdevelopment in the distribution infrastructure.

Also, although consumer incomes and spending have grown significantly, average purchases are still very small, and margins remain tight making growth investment difficult without outside investment.

China’s total supermarket industry, based upon our own estimates themselves based largely on company and China Chain Store and Franchise Association data, comprised about 45,587 stores in 2008, with total retail sales valued at RMB710.47bn, this representing about 12.2% of the total value of the retail market in China in 2008.

This recently updated report includes:

• The total, regional and sector value for retail sales, including urban/rural and food/non-food splits, up to the end of 2008;
• Statistical data on leading retailer market shares by sales in China up to 2008;
• Market data for each key provincial and urban region, in terms both of volume retail trade and the value of the local economy, up to 2008;
• Value forecast retail market, up to 2013;
• Key current issues , and discursive analysis of the key factors affecting the market;
• The domestic industry examined by key statistical indicators, including number of outlets and turnover, by sector and by key city;
• SWOT analysis
• Profiles of the leading supermarket companies active in China, with financial data up to 2008 in most cases.
• Overview of China’s demographics and macroeconomics.

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